


The Story of Erstwhile Knight Galahad

by Cloudnine101



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Transformation, True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 22:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4978576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cloudnine101/pseuds/Cloudnine101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Merlin sneers. "Well, actually, Eggsy's a - " </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"If you say the word dragon, I will personally tan your hide." </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Merlin holds up his hands. "Large, winged being of abnormal size," he says. "Which just happens to resemble Knight Galahad."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm taking him home," Harry says.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Story of Erstwhile Knight Galahad

_On this day, in a land far away,_

Harry is flexing his fingers. He lays his hands down on the desk. He picks up his pen. "What you're trying to tell me, Knight Lancelot, is that the city is burning."

Said knight nods. Twice. "Yes, sir," she says, voice level and flat and, quite frankly, terrifying. "The city is burning."

"And that, this time, it isn't your boys' fault?"

At this, the knight flinches. Her hair stands up on end. There are small, purple sparks coming off it.

"Not - entirely."

"Well, partially would be alright, wouldn't it?" Harry resists the urge to brain himself against the wall. He takes a deep, calming breath. "Why don't you tell me what's happened? And we'll go from there."

Morton, apparently emboldened, clears her throat. "Sir," she says, "sir. We ran into - "

"A spot of trouble, I'm guessing."

Morton's hair fizzes. "A spot of trouble," she finishes, "in our negotiations with the Fey. Apparently, our peace treaty was not to their liking."

Harry raises his eyebrows. The knight bristles. Her hackles rise almost level with her shoulders.

Harry sighs. "Please excuse my rudeness."

A curt nod. "When my - officers attempted to intervene, they were met with - a spot of - bother."

"What sort of a bother?"

"A - magical bother. Sir."

Harry drums his fingers on the table. "Proceed. If you wouldn't mind."

The knight shifts, and smiles uncomfortably. Harry's seen enough uncomfortable smiles to be personally intimate with them.

"The Fey didn't proceed with our agreement. And then Rufus got a touch over-excited, and tried to - ah - create concave holes in the offenders' skulls, sir. And then they - err - he - " Morton rubs the back of her neck. "They still haven't got him down from that tree."

"And this resulted in half the city bursting into flame."

Morton has the decency to look vaguely sheepish. "Well, events did escalate somewhat."

Knights, Harry can't help but think, are notoriously bad at getting to the point. You can run around and around it for hours, without ever quite touching.

"In the lower half of the citadel, I presume? Seeing as my office is not currently falling down around our ears."

"Indeed, sir. Very astute, sir."

"Don't compliment me. Save that for Merlin. It's his tech that's been broken." Standing, Harry unhooks his cloak from behind the chair, and ignores the blank mask of horror that has become Roxy Morton's face. "In order to minimise potential damage, I would suggest returning to the cause at once."

"That's - that's the thing, sir." Morton blushes. She actually, physically blushes.

Harry stares. "Eggsy," he says. "He hasn't - ?"

"I don't know what you're referring to, and I would hazard a guess at no. Sir." The captain rubs a hand down the back of her neck. "But there has been a - a slight complication, on behalf of Knight Galahad."

Harry feels his skin turn cold. "What kind of a complication?" he bites out.

Morton tells him.

 

.

 

"Oh, for the sake of the Gods," Harry says.

Eggsy - who is now a dragon - blinks at him, and hisses.

"You can be quiet." Harry grabs the glass, and drains it in one. "I don't care what you've got yourself into, there is no way you can stay here. You're too large for the room."

"It's a curse," Merlin supplies.

"Yes, I know that. Thank you very much for your input." Harry plonks the glass down in the table. "Stop looking at me like that."

With one last vehement snarl, Eggsy slinks away, and distracts himself by trying to gnaw a table leg to death. It's slow going.

Over his tablet, Merlin's eyebrows gently ascend. "Harsh," he comments.

Harry sighs. "I know. But - what did he do? He must have offended the Fey beyond belief!"

"He did call the Unseelie Queen a - " Merlin glances down at his scroll. His lip twitches. "Hideous, puffy-faced badger, who couldn't recognise a peace treaty if we fed it to her line by line."

Harry's massages his forehead. "That was an unequivocal failure."

Merlin places a hand on his shoulder. "Well, at least we're all going down together."

And then the table collapses.

 

.

 

By the time they've picked themselves up out of the wreckage, Eggsy has made himself scarce. This, of course, leaves Harry and Merlin alone.

"What was he thinking? I thought I trained him better than this. I thought you trained him better than this!"

"I did," Merlin huffs. "It's hardly my fault if the dumb hedgehog chose not to listen."

"He's not a hedgehog," Harry says, "he doesn't deserve that much of an insult. He's a - a rabbit, until he redeems himself."

Merlin sneers. "Well, actually, Eggsy's a - "

"If you say the word dragon, I will personally tan your hide."

Merlin holds up his hands. "Large, winged being of abnormal size," he says. "Which just happens to resemble Knight Galahad."

"I'm taking him home," Harry says.

Merlin blinks. "We were thinking of putting him in containment. The dungeons have been a little lacking of prisoners, of late. And Percival always loves a weird one."

"No, thank you. I've seen Percival's recent methods, and they are going nowhere near my knight." Harry shudders, and continues, "Can he fit inside a carriage?"

"Probably not, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Gawain could probably teleport him back, but all the Fey workers are on strike. News spreads quickly. Half of the office is deserted."

Harry rakes his hands through his hair. "What were they thinking?"

"They weren't thinking, most probably." Rounding the corner, Merlin smiles politely at Morton, who ducks her head. "Knight Lancelot. Had any luck with Galahad?"

"Not much, sir. He won't come off the turret. I've tried reasoning with him, but it's no use. I'm not even sure if he understands me."

"Oh, he understands you," Harry says. "Count on it. He's just too stubborn to see sense. I'll speak to him."

Morton nods. "Sir," she says, "and, err, Merlin."

"Goodnight, Roxy," Merlin says. Roxy scampers off. Merlin coughs. "Ah. I'm never going to get a date, am I?"

"Probably not," Harry admits, but slaps him on the arm anyway. "Keep trying."

 

.

 

In truth, Eggsy is rather impressive. Before him, Harry had only caught fleeting glimpses of dragons - once when he was a boy, and once again when he was a young knight. In both instances, the sighting had been for a handful of seconds, and not left a clear mental image aside from enormous amounts of flame.

Eggsy is burnished orange and gold. Every so often, his scales catch the light, reflecting the wavering imprints of candles. If Harry moved a little closer, he could probably see his own face in them. There is a long set of spines sweeping across his back. His eyes are jet black, and surrounded by set rubies.

"Hello, my dear boy," Harry says. "I think I was rather too rough with you before, wasn't I?"

In response, Eggsy's tail droops. His mouth closes, so that he's no longer snarling; his pupils widen. He doesn't look half so threatening as before.

"I am sorry," Harry continues. "I had no right to criticise you. I - but what were you doing, Eggsy? You could have been hurt, or - or killed, today. Your actions endangered you. Rufus's life cannot be exchanged for yours, not matter how over-excited he is. And yes, he is fine. Shaken, but fine."

Picking his way around the side of the tower, Harry does his level best to look down. From here, you can see right across the city, to the very furthest spire and beyond - a fact he unpleasantly discovered in his first week of training, having been forced to jump off.

Behind Eggsy's crested skull, the skyline glows blue and pink, in wavering ribbons. The clouds drift along. Today, they look like fruit buns. Yesterday, it may have been lemon tarts.

"You are important. You are important to me, and to yourself, and to everyone around you. And even though you may never recognise it, I do. And I can guarantee you that if you pull a stunt like this again, I will personally ensure that you are pelted with rotten fruit. Do we understand one another?"

Eggsy's head dips. Harry nods.

"Good. Now, let's sort this out, so that we can go home." Reaching out a hand, Harry grasps onto the brickwork, and tugs himself flat against it. He and Eggsy lie side by side; Eggsy's breath is hot against his face. "Come here."

 

.

 

Five minutes later, Harry is leading Eggsy, wrapped in his cloak and and shivering and red-faced, down the steps of the astronomy tower.

Merlin is waiting for them. "You found the cure, I presume?" he says, and Harry nods.

"It wasn't all that difficult."

Eggsy snickers. "You can say that again," he says. "Most clichéd fix it in the book. Right, Harry?" And Eggsy nudges him in the ribs.

Tugging him closer, Harry presses a kiss to his temple, and watches Eggsy flush scarlet.

"Disgusting," Merlin comments.

"You're just jealous," Eggsy shoots back, and Harry rewards him with another peck.

"Nope. Not in the slightest. Now shoo. Go on. Get." Merlin waves his hand. "I've got a mission report to file, titled: how to be a moron, starring erstwhile Knight Galahad. It should be a change from the usual."

"That will be justified," Harry agrees, and, ignoring Eggsy's spluttering, gently takes hold of his hand. Eggsy's fingers lace between his own; his palm is warm and soft. Harry squeezes it.

So they walk down into the carriage together, and climb inside, and are driven rather rapidly away, Eggsy complaining spiritedly all the while. And, naturally, 

_They all live Happily Ever After._


End file.
